Carnival Spirit Stuck Offshore Sydney, Australia In Gale Force Winds

Carnival Spirit, which was due to dock in Sydney this morning, has been unable to enter Sydney Harbour due to the extreme weather conditions. The ship has suffered damage from the rough weather conditions including damage to a hand railing and pedestal lighting as well as to the cover of a satellite system.

The cruise ship has been rocked for hours now by swells of up to 30 feet (9 meters) in height off the coast of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The New South Wales (NSW) Port Authority closed Sydney Harbour deeming the conditions in the Harbour to be "far too dangerous" for ships. The Harbour could remain closed for another 24+ hours as the weather is not expected to get that much better over the next day. The Port Authority spokesman was quoted "forecast doesn't look good."

What has been described by the NSW Minister for Emergency Services as a "once in decade storm" has caused numerous deaths, over 20 people have been rescued from rising flood waters, over 200,000 homes and businesses are currently without power and the numbers continue to climb.

The 2500 passengers aboard were due to disembark in Sydney this morning at the conclusion of their cruise.

Last year we went on the Celebrity Solstice across the Tasman Sea, from Australia to New Zealand, 2 days of the roughest seas anywhere in my opinion. Looked exactly like the video, water hitting 4 decks up and 70 mph winds. However, I don't know of any ship damage and the ship handled it quite well. Trash cans we tipping over, closet doors were opening and shutting, and lots of creaking. I was only sick for a day and half, didn't throw up, just miserable. I think larger the ship the better going across there.